by Fran@frantasticfood.com on August 29, 2010
At the beginning of my time in the Philippines I found it tough finding food I liked. Yes, me. I like everything, but I struggled to find food that made me jump up and down. I think it was the unfamiliarity of ingredients and my surroundings. There were parts of animals I would rather have never known existed on a menu and mistakes like eating boiled pig’s blood and other unsavory parts of pigs were thankfully not frequently repeated. My fellow expat colleague, her husband and I took a break each workday and headed off the base for lunch. We found our favorite spots; an Italian restaurant, a Chinese restaurant, a BBQ and Southern food restaurant and … McDonald’s. Yes, I’m afraid I said, McDonald’s. Oh, and for dessert — Baskin & Robin’s. Yikes! It was a bit dismal, but I’m not going to mislead you and have you think I became an instant fan of Filipino food. It took time.
One of the places we frequented, Salvatore’s, was out on Field’s Avenue.
Read More: Finding Familiar Food in the Philippines
by Fran@frantasticfood.com on August 26, 2010
When I’m wallowing in self-pity, reflecting on the past and how great things were, I simply have to step back a second and remember that, there was THAT year in India. While I do a great job at remembering the positives — the friends, food, sights, sounds and colors — I need only remind myself that it wasn’t 365 days of paradise and that while 12 years in the same career was great, and fabulous and remarkable, it wasn’t the be all and end all to life. And besides, I looked like a doofus in a sari! Seriously, I looked like I was going to take one misstep and twirl right out of those 6 meters of beautiful fabric, but I made friendships that will be with me forever and I learned life lessons that have helped me grow and become the person I am now, but there is so much more and… this is getting way too philosophical so it’s time to get back to food!
Wait! There’s just one more thing … I will not be defined by where I’ve been, but rather by where I’m going. And that is that! Really. I don’t know if I read this quote somewhere or if I drummed it up while wallowing in self doubt yesterday before shaking it off, but I like it and I’m going to use it. So there!
Read More: There was THAT Year in India
by Fran@frantasticfood.com on August 23, 2010
Everywhere I look I see messages about summer coming to an end; on Facebook status messages, in Tweets (on Twitter), in recipes on my favorite blogs and on FoodGawker. But, I’m looking at the thermometer on my balcony window and it says anything but, because at 7:00pm, 85º doesn’t say the end of summer to me. I too can tell that the sky is different and that somehow the smell of Fall is in the rare breeze that flutters in at the end of the day, but we’ve got months to go before cold, crisp nights take over and wooly sweaters are seen all over town. I’m conflicted. I HATE the sweltering heat of summer and love the bitter cold of winter, especially when snow is falling from the sky, but I don’t want the year to be accelerated and I’d like to hold the holidays at bay, so I’d rather have summer linger for a while longer.
I can’t stop time from moving forward, so I’ll grin and bear it. In the meantime, while I peruse the sites for delicious looking apple pie, and baked apple recipes, I’ll dwell on summer fruit a while longer and continue to scour the farmers’ market for the first of the local Honey Crisp apples. I told you I was conflicted. Read More: End of Summer Dinner
by Fran@frantasticfood.com on August 19, 2010
This is not my typical post, but don’t worry, the randomness of it all will make sense. At some point. Maybe.
I want to share something with you. These lenses. WHAT are those, you ask? And why is there a an unfocused looking dinosaur standing there in the background? I’ll explain it all, but first let me introduce you to Photojojo. I don’t remember how I came across this cool site, but I immediately signed up for their newsletter and it’s a happy day when I receive mail from them. I know people don’t like to be on distribution lists, but this one makes me smile. Clearly, Photojojo doesn’t take itself too seriously, although they do take their customers and products seriously.
Read More: The Randomness of it All
by Fran@frantasticfood.com on August 16, 2010
What’s up with my obsession with chiles? Or is it chilies. Or chillies. Or Chillis or … oh dear, my brain hurts. I’m going to stick with Chiles. They’re showing up in so many of my posts this summer, even this one.
Anyway, I keep buying poblano chili peppers with the intent to make Chiles Rellenos, but I seem to end up using them for something entirely different. Today was the day though. I had the TV on in the background and Mexican Made Easy was on the Food Network. The host, Marcela Valladolid, was making Chiles Rellenos. Just the inspiration I needed to pull those poblanos out of the fridge and cook up a couple of rellenos.
Read More: My Obsession With Chiles
